‘Nuclear Sword of the Moslem World’?: the United States,Britain, Pakistan,and the ‘Islamic Bomb’, 1977–80

There exists today considerable fear of nuclear proliferation across the ‘Islamic world.’ Despite this, an issue that - in part - set the tone for contemporary debates has largely gone under-examined in the scholarly literature. The emergence of the ‘Islamic bomb’ idea in the late 1970s created a meme that remains with us today. Analysing the roots of this meme allows us to examine its creation and the attitudes of governments towards this alleged emergent nuclear-proliferation threat. This analysis demonstrates that while the media portrayed the ‘Islamic world’ as violent, undifferentiated, and determined to gain nuclear capability, the US and British governments assessed matters evidentially and came to the conclusion that the ‘Islamic bomb’ represented a propaganda problem rather than an imminent nuclear-proliferation concern. Attitudes towards the ‘Islamic bomb’ highlight media and governmental attitudes towards the changing power balances in the Middle East and South Asia during a turbulent and troubled period.     

The Ḥanbalī Emigration of 551–569 AH/1156–1173 AD in the Context of the Legal Discourse on Muslims under Non‐Muslim Rule

In 551 AH/1156 AD the ?anbalī shaykh A?mad ibn Qudāma (491–558/1098–1163) emigrated from the Frankish‐ruled region of Samaria. He reached Damascus and advised his relatives to follow suit, thus initiating the two‐decade exodus of the Banū Qudāma from the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The migration story survives in a tenth/sixteenth century chronicle and is attributed to A?mad's grandson, ?iyā’ al‐Dīn (569–643/1173–1245). According to ?iyā’ al‐Dīn, the cause of the emigration was the extreme oppression of the local Frankish lord, Baldwin of Ibelin (d. c. 582/1186), and A?mad ibn Qudāma's inability to practice his religion. But scholars have also attributed the emigration to wider ideological and political developments under the reign of Nūr al‐Dīn ibn Zengi (541–569/1146–1174), namely the counter‐crusade and the institutionalization of jihad propaganda. Here I explore the context of the emigration in greater detail while focusing primarily on legal theory. In most cases, a historian can determine the circumstances that led to the issuance of certain legal opinions but in the case of the ?anbalī emigration we have an event without an accompanying legal opinion. Accordingly, the emigration must be analyzed in light of developments in ?anbalī legal thought prior to and during the crusades and in consideration of how members of the Banū Qudāma perceived their role prior to and during the emigration. A?mad's role as a charismatic shaykh and spiritual leader became ever more critical and contentious at a time when political tensions between Franks and Muslims were escalating. Furthermore, the heightened religiosity of the Muslims of Greater Syria inspired other members of the Qudāma family to leave the Frankish domains even though their lives were not in danger. This chapter thus aims to complement Steven Gertz's analysis of legal opinions on the obligation to emigrate (The Muslim World , vol. 103) by providing a grounded example of how such opinions could be enacted.     

Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm: the Islamic State and the war on cultural heritage

This paper puts forward the new analytical framework of ‘Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm’ (DMI) to analyse and interpret iconoclastic acts that are experienced through the propaganda (videos, social media, photographs, and other media) that the actor perpetrating the destruction makes available in global information networks for its consumption, duplication, and distribution. DMI captures three stages of the destruction (before, during and after the event) as both evidence of that destruction and as a perdurable digital archive. To demonstrate the relevance of DMI, we focus on an analysis of the videos and photographs depicting heritage destruction at pre-monotheistic sites targeted by the Islamic State (IS), such as Palmyra in Syria, the Mosul Cultural Museum, Nineveh and Nimrud in Iraq. The analysis focuses on the three stages that DMI comprises, showing the different photographic and audio-visual production techniques that the IS uses to enhance the tension that is built up leading to the destruction of cultural heritage while allocating material and human resources to produce digital propaganda. This analysis demonstrates how the analytical framework of DMI can be used to advance important work in heritage and media studies.     

The Influence of Ibn Sīnā on al‐Ghazzālī in Qur'anic Hermeneutics

Al‐Ghazzālī criticized Muslim philosophers in general and Ibn Sīnā in particular in a number of matters notwithstanding, he was deeply influenced by philosophy and Ibn Sīnā's views as to some issues. Of the contexts in which al‐Ghazzālī is under the clear influence of Ibn Sīnā are the interpretations of some Qur'ānīc chapters and verses which are related to the demonstration of the existence of God and the explanation of some divine attributes and names. In many of his works, al‐Ghazzālī reproduces Ibn Sīnā's interpretation of the verses in harmony with the ontological proof. One can observe Ibn Sīnā's influence on al‐Ghazzālī in relation with the hierarchy of beings, too. However, the context in which Ibn Sīnā's influence is most obvious is the interpretation of the 35^th verse of the Sūrah Nūr. Ibn Sīnā's interpretation of the terms occurring in this verse as symbols of the human faculties exercised a profound impact on the thought of al‐Ghazzālī, which manifests itself in his interpretation of the verse in Mishkāt al‐Anwār. Another of such contexts is the topic of human psychology and the interpretations of the verses related wherewith. Immensely influenced by the psychological views of Ibn Sīnā, al‐Ghazzālī adopted Ibn Sīnā's notion of the simultaneous creation of soul and body, interpreting some Qur'ānic verses in harmony with this notion. This article is intended to illustrate that al‐Ghazzālī, who is opposed to the blind imitation of any school of thought, did not make a wholesale denouncement of the views of philosophers; on the contrary, he made an extensive use of Ibn Sīnā's ideas in conformity with his general attitude of benefiting from all schools of thought.     

The Changing Geography of Violence in Russia's North Caucasus, 1999-2011: Regional Trends and Local Dynamics in Dagestan,Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria

Three U.S. geographers analyze the temporal and spatial trends of 17,438 violent events in Russia's North Caucasus region from August 1999 to July 2011, demonstrating that the diffusion of conflict away from Chechnya intensified during the period 2007-2011, as levels of violence rose in neighboring republics. An increasing number of casualties are civilians in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria, the three republics that are the focus of the paper. Employing multiple methods of spatial pattern analysis and geographically sensitive regression models, the authors examine the spatial fragmentation of violence from the perspective of rebel groups operating in the three republics. The analysis documents how the incidence of violence varies dramatically over space (i.e., reflecting the influence of urbanization, strategic location, and physical geographic factors such as elevation and extent of forest cover). Although violence in the North Caucasus region as a whole has declined in absolute terms over the past four years, the authors show how new geographies of violence are developing in the region, underscoring the emergence of republic-based insurgent operations against the various organs of the Russian state. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H560, H770, O180. 9 figures, 3 tables, 1 appendix, 103 references:     

Transitions in Islamic plant-ash glass vessels: on-site chemical analyses conducted at the Raya/al-Tur area on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt

This study focuses on the chemical composition of Islamic plant-ash glass (dated from the 9th to 11th centuries) excavated from the Raya/al-Tur area on the South Sinai in Egypt. Plant-ash glass objects from the Raya site were classified into three compositional types based on on-site chemical analyses with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Based on typological characteristics and chemical composition comparisons with contemporary glass objects from other Islamic sites, one hypothesis holds that plant-ash glass objects produced in the Syria–Palestine or Mesopotamian regions could have been imported to Raya during the 9th to 10th centuries. In particular, some colorless glass vessels with a high magnesium/calcium ratio were noted to exhibit post-Sassanian cut decorations. Conversely, most of the bluish-green plant-ash glass objects from the Monastery of Wadi al-Tur near the Raya site exhibited relatively high levels of aluminum, titanium, iron, and lead. These pieces were likely produced during the Fatimid period (late 10th to 12th centuries), and based on their elemental composition, possibly originated in Egypt. The present work provides a greater understanding of chronological changes in post-9th century Islamic plant-ash glasses and the development of social and commercial networks within the Middle Eastern area.     

Chihr de l’encens (Yémen)

Frankincense burners found in al‐Shihr’s excavations in Yemen, a frankincense harbour during the Islamic period, represent a rare corpus of this type, which is an indication of both specific use and goods from South Arabia. Although associated with the pre‐Islamic South Arabian kingdoms, the frankincense burner evolved throughout the Islamic period. This is proved by the long chronological sequence of the al‐Shihr site (780–1996). Texts quoting the presence of frankincense, its use and its trade in al‐Shihr are cited in this article to support the reputation of this harbour‐town, which is part of the maritime trade networks of medieval Islam. The aim of this article is to create a renewal of interest in future archaeological research about this object, which is so often neglected in spite of its importance as a testimony of the customs and exchanges that are deeply rooted in Arabian civilisation.     

Human remains from a post‐Hellenistic grave‐chamber in Dibba al‐Hisn (Sharjah,UAE)

Human skeletal remains of sixteen individuals found at Dibba al‐Hisn in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE) are analysed with regard to standard anthropological criteria. They represent the poorly known pre‐Islamic period of the first centuries AD. Remains of at least fifteen individuals were recovered from a semi‐subterranean grave‐chamber together with rich archaeological grave‐goods. An additional, almost complete skeleton was found in the open area near the chamber. While the size and nature of the sample prevent demographic analyses, skeletal features studied with the help of macro‐ and microscopic as well as radiographic methods provide details on individual life histories and living conditions, as well as mortuary habits and taphonomic processes. Of special interest is a case of intentional tooth mutilation as well as two cases of skull trauma apparently caused by violent inter‐personal conflict. The results of the analysis of the faunal remains from the grave‐chamber and its surroundings are presented in an appendix .     

Emotional geographies of veiling: the meanings of the hijab for five Palestinian American Muslim women

This article explores experiential and emotional dimensions of veiling practices, the ‘emotional geographies of veiling,’ in relation to Muslim women's community activism. By approaching the hijab as a symbol with both discursive effects and personal meaning – a psycho-social space – this article offers important insights into the intertwined, complex processes of internal embodiments and public manifestations of Muslim female identities. Based on the analysis of life narratives of five Palestinian American Muslim women in Milwaukee, a medium-sized city in the American Midwest, this article comes to the conclusion that public visibility through veiling entails both socio-spatial and emotional/internal processes. The analysis of these women's narratives explores how veiling practices can guide personal piety and self-transformation, and contributes to the solidification of a politically and religiously identifiable community.